Dear fellow students!
At first I struggled with the choice of topic for this article. There are so many things I could tell you about. Finally, after some deliberation, I decided to go with what I think has the most potential for you, as my readers. In other words, today I will talk about podcasts. This probably won’t come as a big surprise, because I already promised to do so, in my comment to Ania’s article, back in November. That's also when I discovered, that although some of you listen to podcast, most of you do not!
It's almost hard for me to imagine how people who haven't discovered podcast yet are able to live their lives. Podcasts are at least as important for me as books, movies and TV shows. Probably much more important. I hope my article will help you to discover podcasts, and maybe you will fall in love with them, as I once did (provided you are not a podcast devotee already!). I urge you all to accept podcasts into your hurts!
Ok. So maybe I got a little carried away. Let me start again.
At first I struggled with the choice of topic for this article. There are so many things I could tell you about. Finally, after some deliberation, I decided to go with what I think has the most potential for you, as my readers. In other words, today I will talk about podcasts. This probably won’t come as a big surprise, because I already promised to do so, in my comment to Ania’s article, back in November. That's also when I discovered, that although some of you listen to podcast, most of you do not!
It's almost hard for me to imagine how people who haven't discovered podcast yet are able to live their lives. Podcasts are at least as important for me as books, movies and TV shows. Probably much more important. I hope my article will help you to discover podcasts, and maybe you will fall in love with them, as I once did (provided you are not a podcast devotee already!). I urge you all to accept podcasts into your hurts!
Ok. So maybe I got a little carried away. Let me start again.
What are podcasts?
Subscriptions
Podcasts are audio or video shows distributed via the Internet. There are two important characteristics that have to be met in order for a show to be a proper podcast. First of all, the show has to be a series, containing multiple episodes, coming out in (more or less) regular intervals. Additionally, it has to make use of the RSS technology in order to create a podcast feed. Thanks to the feed you are able to subscribe to podcasts. After you do, every time a new episode comes out, it will be downloaded automatically and ready for you.You can subscribe to podcasts on your computer or a mobile device. You will need a podcasting client. If you use an Apple mobile device you should download the official “Podcasts” app. There are multiple good choices on Android, Pocket Cast being my personal choice.
Audio versus video
This article pretty much ignores video podcasts. I have nothing against them, but it is much easier to squeeze audio podcasts into your busy lives. You can listen to audio podcasts while commuting, exercising or doing housework. Even the most busy among us can identify tasks they could perform wearing headphones, listening to an episode of some amazing podcast. On the other hand video podcasts are more like TV. They require more commitment. You need to actually sit down and look at a screen. All shows mentioned in this article will be of the audio variety.
Some examples
Currently I subscribe to 22 audio podcasts. However, in order to keep this article relatively short I picked three shows I will actually describe here. If you want more, you can visit my personal website, where you will find a much longer list of my favorite podcasts. It will make me very happy, if you do visit it. But for now, here are the three shows that I chose:
This American Life
I don’t think it’s possible to describe how much I like this show. I stumbled upon it in December 2006. I still remember the first episode I listened to. It was called “Shouting Across the Divide”. I never heard anything like this before. I actually don’t think anything comparable exists in Poland.
The show is quite hard to describe. There is a separate theme or a premise for every episode. Every episode consists of one or more stories on the theme. Those segments can be anything, from a hard-hitting investigative report, to a piece of fiction or a part of a comedy show. There is only one characteristic uniting all segments and all episodes - their quality. No matter what it is, it’s always a great piece of radio. Always a pleasure to listen to.
After I discovered the show I started to go back and listen to past shows from the archive. It took me the next 9 months to listen to all 335 hour-long episodes. I never stopped being amazed at how great every one of them was. That is still true today, despite the fact seven years have passed, and more than 500 episodes of the show exist now. Every week when I get to listen to a new one, I’m still just as amazed. It still gives me the special feeling of being able to listen to something really extraordinary.
This American Life
I don’t think it’s possible to describe how much I like this show. I stumbled upon it in December 2006. I still remember the first episode I listened to. It was called “Shouting Across the Divide”. I never heard anything like this before. I actually don’t think anything comparable exists in Poland.
The show is quite hard to describe. There is a separate theme or a premise for every episode. Every episode consists of one or more stories on the theme. Those segments can be anything, from a hard-hitting investigative report, to a piece of fiction or a part of a comedy show. There is only one characteristic uniting all segments and all episodes - their quality. No matter what it is, it’s always a great piece of radio. Always a pleasure to listen to.
After I discovered the show I started to go back and listen to past shows from the archive. It took me the next 9 months to listen to all 335 hour-long episodes. I never stopped being amazed at how great every one of them was. That is still true today, despite the fact seven years have passed, and more than 500 episodes of the show exist now. Every week when I get to listen to a new one, I’m still just as amazed. It still gives me the special feeling of being able to listen to something really extraordinary.
“This American Life” host Ira Glass (photo by Dougless A. Barnes/Showtime)
Radiolab in many ways is very similar to “This American Life”. The difference is, it’s strictly a science show. It uses modern radio techniques to make the shows gripping and really fascinating. You will never be bored. Actually, it will blow your mind. Multiple times.
Some of the episodes that were the most mind-blowy for me personally include ”Famous Tumors” (particularly the story about Henrietta Lacks, which makes you ask yourself what it means to be alive, and what it means to be a human), ”Lucy” (this one is about a chimpanzee raised in a human family; it’s both thought-provoking and moving - quite dramatic, actually), and ”Where Am I?” (about how some of our mind’s functions that we take for granted, are not so easy or obvious after all).
I think this maybe a great introduction to podcasting for people that are not ready to fully commit yet. The reason is, the episodes are really short - only a couple of minutes long. Every episode features a different person telling a real story from their life. The stories are recorded during live storytelling events, also called “The Moth”, and are usually really good.
Podcasts as a learning tool
learning language
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that listening to podcasts is useful while learning a language. When I first started listening to podcasts I had a really hard time understanding any of it. I’d been learning English for a couple of years already, but I hadn’t been that good at understanding real life conversations in the language. To be able to follow any of the shows then, I had to lay down in a bed, in a dark room, with headphones on - basically eliminating anything even remotely distracting. Today, understanding spoken world in English is exactly as natural and easy for me as understanding Polish.
Obviously listening to audio shows is quite a passive form of learning. As a consequence my listening skills are considerably better than my speaking and writing. Still, listening to podcasts gave me large vocabulary and quite a good language intuition. Even my accent got better over the years, which I thought was not possible without me actually using it. Nevertheless, if you decide to use podcasts for learning a language, you should probably make it only a part of your learning strategy. The good news is, you will find plenty of interesting shows in almost any major language.
learning other skills
There are podcasts on almost any topic imaginable. Subscribing to a show is a great way to immerse yourself in a field and learn about it quickly. For example, I subscribe to podcasts about many programming tools I use (like programming languages and frameworks).
People studying Computer Science will probably remember SKJ - a course dealing mostly with network protocols. I actually learned all the material covered by SKJ (and much more) way before, listening to a podcast called “Security Now”. What’s more important, it not only gave me the information, but also fascination with the subject. When you listen to an interesting show you don’t feel that you are learning. But you absolutely do.
All logos used throughout this article come from shows’ official websites.
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that listening to podcasts is useful while learning a language. When I first started listening to podcasts I had a really hard time understanding any of it. I’d been learning English for a couple of years already, but I hadn’t been that good at understanding real life conversations in the language. To be able to follow any of the shows then, I had to lay down in a bed, in a dark room, with headphones on - basically eliminating anything even remotely distracting. Today, understanding spoken world in English is exactly as natural and easy for me as understanding Polish.
Obviously listening to audio shows is quite a passive form of learning. As a consequence my listening skills are considerably better than my speaking and writing. Still, listening to podcasts gave me large vocabulary and quite a good language intuition. Even my accent got better over the years, which I thought was not possible without me actually using it. Nevertheless, if you decide to use podcasts for learning a language, you should probably make it only a part of your learning strategy. The good news is, you will find plenty of interesting shows in almost any major language.
learning other skills
There are podcasts on almost any topic imaginable. Subscribing to a show is a great way to immerse yourself in a field and learn about it quickly. For example, I subscribe to podcasts about many programming tools I use (like programming languages and frameworks).
People studying Computer Science will probably remember SKJ - a course dealing mostly with network protocols. I actually learned all the material covered by SKJ (and much more) way before, listening to a podcast called “Security Now”. What’s more important, it not only gave me the information, but also fascination with the subject. When you listen to an interesting show you don’t feel that you are learning. But you absolutely do.
Videos
I haven’t had a chance to include any videos in my article, as it is solely about audio content. However most of the shows I wrote about, tend to orchestrate live specials - every couple of years. The live shows are often quite rich visually, and the video recordings are made available after the fact. I link to them below. They are all great, and may be a better fit for people who prefer visual content:
- This American Life’s “The Invisible Made visible” live show - the video actually costs $5 dollars, but you can watch the trailer for free.
- RadioLab’s “Apocalyptical” live show - the full two hours show is completely free :)
- The Moth’s YouTube channel - The Moth is always performed life on a stage, and you can find video recordings of some of those performances on their YouTube channel, also for free.
Questions
You can ignore those questions, if you want. They are only meant as an optional inspiration for your comments.
- Do you listen to podcasts? If you do - what are your favorite ones? If you don’t - is there a specific reason?
- Are there any Internet shows you listen to / watch regularly that are not podcasts? Which ones? How are they distributed?
- I come out in this post as a hardcore podcasts junkie / podcast nerd. I don’t think I ever did talk about this to the extent before. Do you have things in your live that you are as passionate about? Movies? TV shows? Books? Music bands? Video games?
- Do you have your own ways of combining learning and having fun?
All logos used throughout this article come from shows’ official websites.
To be honest a term “podcast” and everything what hides behind it was completely unfamiliar to me. I also had to find some additional information on the internet, in order to understand exactly that phenomena. Therefore, because it is a new knowledge to me, I doubt I have anything wise to say in this matter :)
ReplyDeleteBecause I try to keep up to date with everything what is happening around the world nowadays, I am asking myself why I have never been interested in podcasts? Well, probably I never had time to do look for them and now, as I think about what I have just said, it is seems a little bit funny, because actually podcasts were created to help people to acquire relevant information in fast and easy way (through subscriptions, you mentioned).
Considering all the various subjects brought up by the creators of podcasts I think I have to find some time to look them over, as I might find something interesting for me. Especially because, recently I perceive conventional sources of information (such as TV, radio, web pages) as full of biases and not very objective. So maybe podcasts will help me to look more broadly on certain things, to extend my knowledge?
And answering for one of your questions: I love reading books. Books are amazing - no matter what is the topic. I reach for different literature, just for a simple joy of reading. When I read, I feel my body relaxes and my mind enters other levels. I am out of touch with reality, from problems and bad thoughts. Someone once said to me that reading books gives us more than just one life, and I fully agree with it. Of course it does not mean that I am not happy with my own life - on the contrary :) But it is nice to be able to feel how it is to live in a different skin!
Indeed, there are many good news/political podcasts, some produced by big media companies, other from small groups or individual people. This gives you an opportunity to get to know many different points of view.
DeleteOne of the sources that I think is really good is Aljazeera English (which some people find surprising). They tend to produce really interesting, in-depth stories that don't come out from the usual European/North American point of view. Al Jazeera offers plenty of podcasts and I think they are well worth checking out.
I know exactly what you mean about books. I also love books :) Some podcasts (not all of them, just the best ones, like "This American Life") give me a very similar feeling of almost being transported into a different life.
Blog post styled to perfection :)
ReplyDeleteI don't want to reply myself, so here: http://konwersatorium3.blogspot.com/2013/11/week-5-things-you-can-learn-about-on.html?showComment=1385117029400#c2044393308882919367 is my list of several favorite podcasts and why I listen to them.
What is strange to me is that why there are so few quality podcasts in Polish language ? Anyone can prove me wrong ?
I think you meant "repeat" instead of "reply" - I got confused for a moment :)
DeleteI definitely agree with you about NPR producing great shows. PRI also makes some really good ones. I find American public radio really extraordinary in general.
When it comes to Polish podcasts I have to pled total ignorance. I never listened to even a single episode of a Polish podcast. Can you believe it? I listened to thousands of hours of podcast in English, but never even thought about looking for a podcast in Polish.
Have you gone one step further than me, and actually tried to listen to a Polish podcast? How was it? I would also love for someone to recommend a good Polish show.
Haha , same thing for me. I never was bothered to even search for podcasts in Polish. That's why I am wondering maybe we're missing something :)
DeleteI tried several times to find a Polish podcast worth listening. But I did not find any. I once even subsribed to one about cooking but I couldn't stand it - compering to the English ones it was so unprofessional.. The hosts didn't really know what they were talking about, they were not prepared and I didn;t like their style of talking. The only Polish "podcast" I listen to is one of podcast available from radio Tok FM - it's not a real podcast, it's a regular archived radio broadcast - I use it instead of radio in the evening when I try to sleep:)
DeleteAnia - keep in mind that most (although not all) podcasts we talk about here, are in fact recordings of audio broadcasts as well. We think of them as being primary podcast, mostly because this is the only form available to us. We don't live in the US, so we can't listened to them on the radio.
DeleteThis brings us to an interesting point. I think that even if a podcasts is a recording of a radio show, it does make a difference that you listen to it in a podcast form. The fact that people usually listen to podcast on headphones, at the time most suitable to them, creates an experience that is unique, and different from the radio experience. Radio often just plays in the background - people usually tune in randomly, often in the middle of a show, not even knowing what's on. And then tune out before a show ends. Or they leave the radio on, but are distracted.
Podcasts are nothing like that. They are always in the foreground, playing right into your ears. You listen from start to finish, and if you need to stop, you just pause and resume later. You chose the shows you listen to yourself, so you know you want to pay attention. You listen to an episode every week, so you start to feel more personal connection to a show. You know the presenters, the format, the inside jokes, and the quirks. You start to look forward to an episode every week. It becomes part of your life, your weekly routine. And even without all that, I think the sheer fact that you have the power to decide what you listen to, and when, makes listening to podcasts a much more personal experience.
As Daniel said – great visual part of the post indeed! Clear, legible and very nice!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I would like to refer to Anna’s Strzeżek post – “Things you can learn about on the internet”, which encouraged me to listen to RadioLab. Since then I’ve enjoyed many different auditions and for those who aren’t sure about podcasts – try it! (Special thanks to Ania!).
Secondly, I would also like to appreciate your effort. While I was reading your post I felt that you are a podcast freak (in a positive way of course). You was writing with so much passion that you make me keen on listening to “The American Life” as well (I hope I will be able to listen to it soon to leave here a comment).
Moreover, if you like podcasts, maybe you would be interested in radio dramas? I really love them! Audiobooks are fine, but compared to radio dramas, they give a weak performance.
While I was listening to RadioLab, I really enjoyed those “modern radio techniques”, about which Ludwik was writing about and which you can find in most radio dramas. Basically those are sound effects and voice manipulations, but they really makes the trick. Here is the link, where you can find better ones: http://www.geekscape.net/the-top-10-greatest-radio-dramas.
You asked whether we have things in our live that we are as passionate about . I must say that I’m a football and comic books fan, but if we are talking about media, tv show and etc – I’m South Park(I saw you’ve mentioned this show as well on your site) and Family Guy “junkie”. I’ve already seen each and every episode more than 50 times each and I still find it hilarious. (Yes, I know it’s disturbing). I’m glad that there are other nerds as well, but I hope that your passion is more “healthy” than mine.
All in all – great post!
Wow, so many great points :) The one about radio dramas got me really interested. I actually listen to a podcast with modern radio dramas, called "The Truth". It's good, but I know classic radio dramas are made from a completely different cloth. Now, aster reading your comment, I feel a sudden urge to listen to some of those classic :) The link you provided seems like a really great place to start. Thank you!
DeleteThanks a lot guys, radio dramas are on my "to listen" list from now !
DeleteKeep good shares coming ;)
Ha ha! Great you tried and liked RadioLab! I'm glad to be a part of the beggining of you listening to podcasts:)
DeleteTo be honest I do not listen and subscribe to any podcasts. You may ask why… I have no clue that something like that is existing. Well I may or may not heard something about this was of communication but for real – is it worth of time? I have my day, maybe not planned with much details, but planned with some points and I had to admit I have no time to sleep. I prefer reading text as most interesting part I read and sometimes I just look at things and omit some fragments that are less interesting to me. You may say that listening something and doing other things is possible – I say it depends… If you need to be focused – which I need to be almost all day – you cannot listen anything interesting or thing that you would like to think about. If you listen and need to focus you do everything not as good as you would do if you done that separately (brain braking sentence :-) ).
ReplyDeleteI do not criticize you I just want to know, how you get along with listening to podcasts and i.e. working at the same time. Or maybe you are so lucky that you have so much free time ? :-)
Those are all valid points. As to your question: I have very little free time. I work full time and I study at PJWSTK. Still, I find the time to listen to podcast while commuting, shopping or doing my daily chores. I do this things anyway, so I feel like it's a win-win situation. There is one additional trick I sometimes employ: I listen to some podcast at a higher speed. Although I wouldn't dream of speeding up "This American Life" or other shows that seem like a carefully prepared pieces of art, there are some other podcast that I listen mostly for their information and I do speed up - even up to 2.5 times their normal speed. 1.2 to 2.0 are the more typical speedup values. My podcast player does an automatic peach correction, so you don't have to feel like you are listening to a bunch of cheapmunks ;)
DeleteIt is good to hear that you can manage :) I can say that I have one podcast that I must listen. My fiance :-) This one podcast is more than enough for me :)
DeleteThat is such a lovely point :-) I used to call my sister "podcast" - she could talk and entertain us endless!
DeleteLudwik, I’m a big fan of podcast too! I even searched for the perfect wireless headphones to be able to listen to them conveniently almost everywhere (…and after buying my perfect pair of headphones, Bluetooth in my phone broke up – didn’t foresaw that!). In any case, I visited your web page – it’s source of great inspiration! I subscribed to some of the podcast you recommended and discovered another online courses page (Udacity!) Many thanks! Maybe I’ll use the polyphasic sleep techniques to have time to listen to all that ;) (if you haven’t yet read the “Getting sleepy?” presentation – I strongly recommend it!)
ReplyDeleteWhen I started my job I had a very intense English course at work – one of the things my teacher advised me, was exactly what you wrote – listen to audiobooks and podcasts. Audiobooks may be even better when learning a language, because you can both listen to the narrator and follow the written text (assuming you have the printed book). Except that audiobooks usually have a bit better “quality” of the language and being presented by a professional are much easier to understand. My “learning” audiobook was (please don’t laugh) the Harry Potter series. Great narrator, language, accent and easy access to all the printed versions. The other con I need to agree with is learning, about things you’re interested in – be it IT or anything else. You have a chance to listen to smart and experienced people sharing their knowledge.
Looks like I need to agree with everything you wrote and thank you for sharing very useful resources!
Sorry about your headphones! I also have a problem with headphones - because of my podcast "addiction" I always bring them with me. As a consequence after a while they break or get misplaced. That's quite frustrating, because a pair of comfortable headphones tend to be quite expensive.
DeleteAudiobooks are a great way to learn English, that's for sure. I agree that the pronunciation is usually easier to understand, but on the other hand book authors usually use much reacher vocabulary, than you would typically encounter in a podcast. So it goes both ways.
I really like audiobooks in general. I would listen to them more, if they weren't so expensive. And I'm certainly not laughing about you listening to "Harry Potter". I really like the series! In fact for me "Harry Potter" was one of the first books I read in English. So our "Harry Potter" stories are actually quite similar. Except, I was also the head of the biggest Polish chatroom for "Harry Potter" fans, when I was 14.
Hey, stop laughing!
Great content. Recently I bought my first iPhone and I've just been getting into podcasts. I am now in love with all the awesome content I could subscribe to and download to my phone. I listen to podcasts while getting ready in the morning, on my walk and as I feel asleep. It seems to me it is better than music on iTunes because basically they are interesting and FREE! Love it ;)
ReplyDeleteMy favourite categories for podcasts will be literature, comedy, and maybe politics.
I would like to mention we can also create our own podcast. Technically anyone with a computer and recording capabilities can create his/her own podcast.
I also thank you for providing the list of additional podcasts to check out, so I'm looking forward to adding these to my rotation :)
I'm glad you liked it :)
DeleteRegret to say that, since the article Anna not much has changed. Then I wrote that I do not have time to listen to podcasts.
ReplyDeleteNew article - the new motivation.
If so many people write that it is worth, I decided that I'll start.
You propose as a good introduction to podcasting "The Moth". I have to admit that I really liked. It's actually a great way to learn. So far, I watched the BBC or CNN on TV, order not to lose contact with the language. The added value was the knowledge about the news in the world. Exactly as you said 'it is much easier this squeeze audio podcasts into your busy lives'. Equally encouraging is the variety of topics.
Thank you for your article. You described your passion. You gave a very useful knowledge.
I think, that thanks to your article and the comments of other fellow students, listen to the audio podcasts will be on my list of New Year's resolutions. I did not know where to find podcasts that really interested me - thanks to your website I have no excuse.
Good luck with introducing podcast into your life. If you like BBC and CNN, you may be happy to know that they both are big podcast producers:
Delete* CNN Podcasts
* BBC Podcasts
I already subscribe to couple of BBC podcasts, but visiting the sites linked above made me want to subscribe to even more. There are so many good choices :)
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteLudwik, thank you for introducing me to podcasts! I actually never listened to them, but I spend 1 hour on more on public transport everyday and it seems that this is going to be a great thing to do to kill boredom and not strain my eyes any further (this is why I stopped reading book on public transport).
ReplyDeleteDuring my freeish moments, and I call the freeish because in far they're not free at all, but I'm too tired to work at the time, I watch a few shows on YouTube. You might find them interesting:
http://www.youtube.com/user/sxephil - Philip DeFranco Show - Almost daily show taking about 7 minutes each, hosted by Philip DeFranco who is a regular American guy, he's around 26, didn't attend college but is smart enough to comment on news happening around the world, but mostly America. It's interesting to hear and see the news from this distant country that is often portrayed as the Best Country In The World and by what I'm seeing on this show - it isn't.
http://www.youtube.com/user/SourceFed - SourceFed - Show contains of few daily episodes that take up to 3 minutes and comment on current world news. The catch is the comments are often sarcastic, blunt and otherwise funny. It's nice to receive news in this not-so-serious manner.
http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCkyfHZ6bY2TjqbJhiH8Y2QQ - The Brain Scoop - If you like animals, especially dead ones - it's something for you! The show takes place in Field Museum (located in Chicago, USA), is hosted by Emily who is a smart and witty biology enthusiast and shows happenings from the museum. You can see the collections of insects, learn how to distinguish moth from a butterfly and (drum roll, please!) see how skinning of animals for museum purposes looks like. Yes, on the show you can see how insights of the wolf look like, get proper commentary on it with descriptions of all the guts and to top all that the host is really passionate about her job, which is making watching this channel really fun. I recommend it, but it is highly not safe for work.
http://www.youtube.com/user/ToneItUpcom - Tone it up - Channel with tons of exercises and diet tips with lovely two hosts. I watch it for fitness inspiration but to be fair I don't exercise nearly as much as I should so it's mostly watching, less doing. But who knows, this channel might inspire you. The up side is that the hosts are lovely, nice, have nice bodies (not to muscular, what happens to some of the other fitness trainers and this instantly drives me away) and are really professional, showing you right technique for the each position.
These my favorite picks. Anyone else watches show on YouTube and can share? I would love to find some new ones.
You comment is almost like a whole new presentation :) Thank you! Those shows sound really interesting, so I will have to check them out during one of my freeish moments!
DeleteAccording to me I am in the same situation like Piotr to some extent. I have heard about podcasts but I have never developed this knowledge. I have checked your website and thanks to it and now some things are clearer for me :)
ReplyDeleteI am an absolute car freak. I am interested in cars which are called classic, especially in old Mercedes-Benz vehicles. In my free I enjoy spending time on renovating such cars.
Great to see there are so many podcast enthusiasts in the group. It's amazing as I've never actually met anyone who was into podcasts in real life. I've converted a fair number of people into podcasts lovers though!
ReplyDeleteThere are so many great points and recommendations in the post (great job by the way) and comments it's quite hard not to repeat something that has already been said.
Let me add some recommendations to the mix. The selection isn't random as I'm trying to make a point so bear with me:)
"More or Less" is dealing with all the shoddy statistics you are bombarded with on the media. It's great if you like to be the "well, actually.." guy. It also teaches you that very rarely are the headlines containing any statistics claim true.
"Infinite Monkey Cage" is a show where a panel made up of comedians and actual true-to-life scientists discuss various sciency topics.
"Freakonomics" explores the hidden side of everything. They go indepth into various subjects and show you there frequently is more to them than meets the eye.
Those three podcasts are produced by public media outlets - BBC and NPR respectively. One aspect of making such shows I feel hasn't been highlited enough is that production and delivery cost a lot of money.
There is a lot of auditions that do well with ad revenue (tech shows are a great example - the entire TWiT network is privately founded and does very well for itself) but podcasts that are a bit niche like the ones I listed above could only be produced by a public organization like BBC or NPR. Unfortunately due to budget cuts public money quite often is not enough so the shows are orginising fundrising runs. For example RadioLab, This American Life, Freakonomics (all made by public media organizatons) have done them or are doing them at the moment. BBC shows are unfortunately banned from collecting fund from private individuals.
I try to donate some money whenever a podcast makes me go "woah". Also, for this reason I gladly pay my licencing fee (very much the same you are supposed to pay in Poland for TVP) every month so I'm directly funding BBC too.
Please consider donating to the shows you love:)
I just subscribed to "More or less" thanks to your recommendation. The show sounds great!
DeleteI already subscribe to the "Infinite Monkey Cage" and I love it. I tried "Freakonomics" once and did not love it then, but I will have to try it again, because I know there are many people that swear by it.
You make an excellent point about donating. Podcasts are usually free, but if listening to a show gives you a great pleasure, I think it's worth donating. I just checked and it turns out I donated more than $150 to "This American Life" over the years. The truth is the show is worth much more than that to me.
I also created a search tool for an another podcast (from the TWiT network mentioned by you) - the tool is called "GizWizSearch". I think you can also think about this as about a kind of donation - donating time, instead of money. It got me featured on a couple dozen of episodes of the popular show, so in this case I think I got much more in return.
I must say that althought I didn't know the term "podcast" I used to watch
ReplyDeleteit from time to time. Instead of watching news in TV I watch some
undependent journalists and listen what they have to say because
I found them more reliable than the information in TV or newspapers.
And I like watching series of tutorial about how to make somethig from nothing,
they are really cool and creative
I've never listened to podcasts, I heared this term somewhere in the past but I never paid attention to it. I never wanted to discover what are they.
ReplyDeleteYour presentation is very interesting and I will surely find out why podcasts are so great :) I'm sure I'm going to listen to some. So thank you for giving me an interest in this subject, I really like reaching for some new ways of self development.
No, I don't even listen to radio - there is too much empty, silly talking than real music. I don't turn radio on to listen how someone is talking, I want music. So no, I don't have my favourite one.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure if i can call vines 'internet show', but when i want to watch something in the Internet then I choose vines or compilations with silly, cute animals. I acually like it, they can be really funny sometimes and it's easy way to lose some time or watch something during meal.
My own way to combine studying and fun? I don't think they exist, studying aren't too funny thing to do, but listening classical music or nature sounds during it makes it more friendly and less tedious for brain - at least it works like that with me. Also pretending that you explaining something to someone may be quite fun too.
I have heard of podcasts before, mostly via friends or internet forums, but I have never tried them before. I'm a visual learner and sometimes I have to concentrate even on normal music which makes multitasking a bit inefficient, so listening to a podcast during activities might be difficult for me. I will definitely try it out though!
ReplyDeleteAs far as internet based content goes, I regularly watch youtube channels and read blogs, but that would be about it for more educational materials. I enjoy reading webcomics (Especially short ones, like Ava's Demon or silly ones, like Gamercat) but those would hardly qualify as benefitting.
I'm very passionate about video games and some TV shows. I spend many hours daily playing games, not even to have fun, but to compare them and see how they use different techniques. I don't do it for any purpose, I just do it because games as a medium fascinate me.
For me, learning just about anything on subjects that interest me is enjoyable. When I have trouble with forcing myself to study a certain subject, I just think about how I could apply it to some of my hobbies, especially writing (such as, 'how could some basic knowledge on law help me write crime stories better'). It doesn't always help, but it usually motivates me to do better. If all else fails, I whip up some educational videos on youtube to help me, or scavenge Khan Academy.
I don't listen to podcasts, cause it is not easy for me to listen to and take information. But I like to watch podcasts. I do it rarely, but sometimes I learn how to play different songs on the guitar this way or I watch some videos about selfdeveloping and sport.
ReplyDeleteAs for shows, I really like The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and other american talkshows. They are very funny.
I don't like audio podcasts, because mostly they're lasting too much time and I can't focus only on them. In the same time I'm doing different things and then - I lose the thread.
ReplyDeleteBut sometimes I try to watch podcasts but another kind - like live steams from games. I really like to watch how other people are playing games the same like I'm playing. Sometimes I only want to listen my favourite streamer.
It's fun but I don't like watching anything on YouTube, I only listen music from it, okey, maybe sometimes I watch one channel but it's my streamer channel.
I prefere reading books or watching TV, reading news etc.
I don’t listen to podcast. I didn’t even know what they are until this presentation.
ReplyDeleteI subsribe few YT channels. Some of them are about art, but there is also Accantus with their song, Gonciarz with everything or Mówiąc Inaczej about polish language.
I am passionate about Japanese cartoons known as anime. I have watched much more anime than typical cartoons, movies or TV series. I’m in fansubbing group for almost 3 years now and know more seiyus (voice actors) and directors of anime than movie stars. I’m also convincing to TV series, some of them are really good.
I did not know what podcasts were. Thanks to this post I already know. I also had to find some information on the internet. Now I know that sometimes I have heard such. Mainly they were retreats of the Internet, but sometimes also interviews and news from around the world. I also often watch videos on YouTub, I have my favorite artists who share their lives and insights on various topics. This is the way of combining learning and having fun for me. I watch movies, for example, about make-up but people from the backyard, I learn English and make-up techniques. I can say the same about watching TV series in a foreign language.
ReplyDeleteI’ve listened audio podcasts for a few months. I love to listen to the audio podcasts recorded by Michał Szafrański. It’s available on his online blog http://jakoszczedzacpieniadze.pl/ - I really recommend it! I found this blog by accident - I was looking for various articles about personal development. His blog and audio podcasts are about saving money, managing our own investment portfolio, developing themselves, and achieving success. I love such topics, because after listening this I’ve more motivation to learning. In addition, finance is related to my studies - I study “finance, investment, accounting”, and “management” so it; very useful for me. I usually do it on a bus or subway and also in my room when I just want to relax.
ReplyDeleteI listen to podcast on youtube every week. They are called "Zombie vs Zwierz" and "Czytu czytu". I do not watch any Internet shows. I watch some Youtubers form UK. But they don't have daily or weekly shows they put their content randomly.
ReplyDeleteMy passion are films and films theories, also tv show theories. For example I can watch 10 videos about different theories in Game of Thrones or Harry Potter. I'm also love watching Rick and Morty. I spend a lot of time watching some funny bloopers or fan videos about those films.
Well I guess when I have to learn I sit in my desk and read or make notes. And when I have my free time I spend it on my hobbies. I don't really think that you can learn so much during having fun. The only time when i do that i guess is when i watch and read things in foreign languages.
To be honest, I do not listen to podcasts. I tried to but I just couldn't focus on it. Maybe I chose the wrong subject of the podcast that didn't really interested me or maybe I just prefer to watch an image of what I'm listening to. Surely, I agree that listening to such podcasts improve your language skills and you can learn about what you're interested in. But it was nice to read about podcasts and get some more information about them from a real fan who is so concerned!
ReplyDeleteI don't listen any podcasts. But I understand that it can be interested for other people. I know that a lot of my friends learning foreign languages thanks to podcasts. You can use it when you are at public transport, when you drive car and in other situations when you can't use book for learning. On the other hand podcasts are a good form for relax - you turn on a interesting record, lie down and you can while away.
ReplyDeleteThe ter podcast is absolutely known for me. Podcasts are good distraction for me durng long tracels by bus or trains. I like listening tchem especially about politics news, podcasts about learning languages are also so good. But I claim that more Polish media should engage their content as podcasts.
ReplyDeleteI really like Dawid Podsiadło's and Gargamel's podcasts. I think they are really inteligent, when I listen to them I can relate to their words, stories. It is a good time, I like these boys. I have never tried to learning from podcasts. I can't say it is not interesting for me - it is just not my way of learning. I believe, a lot of people like this idea, but I am not one of them. For me podcasts should be fun, but only in a smart way. I do not like listening to idiots.
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